Day Off
by Wahmenitu
Summary: My take on the day off Cloud and Tifa take at the end of Advent Children.  A simple shopping experience ends up as so much more when the kids go to bed.  EXTREME fluff at the end, and includes a tiny bit of Yuffentine.


**Author's Note: **Mmkay, so I was looking through my Advent Children DVD when I got the idea for this. You have to watch the recap of Final Fantasy VII to understand it, so I guess I'll explain it real quick here. Essentially, you see Cloud driving on an open road while people call him. After each call, the scene will cut away, and replay the scenes in Final Fantasy VII. Then, after a few scenes, it will cut back to Cloud driving. Yuffie calls Cloud, but he lets it go to voicemail, and she leaves him a message telling him to get over to Barrett's house, pronto. Cid calls Cloud second, and Cloud picks up. Cid tells Cloud that he has a message from Yuffie, and tells him, like Yuffie, to go to Barrett's house. Finally, Vincent is the last to call Cloud, again on Yuffie's command, to tell him to go to Barrett's house, where Cloud is already headed. When he arrives, Barrett has three packages for him. A gift for Marlene, a gift from Denzel, and then a gift for Cloud, the last being from Yuffie herself. Inside, Cloud finds a 'Closed for Business' sign. The last call we hear is from Tifa, you don't hear her talk, but it's pretty easy to guess what she's saying, so I'll assume the role of Tifa. Tifa calls Cloud, and asks how far along he is in his deliveries. He tells her he only has the Midgar deliveries left, and asks why, and if someone else called for another delivery. Tifa tells him yes, and after a pause, Cloud tells her to tell the man no, he's going to take the day off tomorrow. Tifa questions why, but Cloud merely says there's no reason. After another moment's hesitation, Cloud asks Tifa if she can close the bar tomorrow. Tifa apparently agrees immediately, because Cloud is surprised as to how 'easy' that was. He hangs up, and the scene ends completely.

SO. This is my version of what happened the night before, and the day of Cloud's day off. It's happy, and includes Denzel and Marlene. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or any of its characters. (Unfortunately.)

…

He was tired.

_So_ tired.

He'd just gotten home. It was one in the morning, and he wanted to go to _bed_. He tried to stay quiet as he walked through the empty bar. Naturally, it wasn't open, as it was the anniversary of when they had first defeated Sephiroth, and helped stop Meteor from destroying the planet. To Cloud's great displeasure, when he entered his room on the bottom floor, he found it piled with junk. He didn't blame Tifa. It was his own fault for leaving in the first place. But, he still felt a twinge of annoyance at the realization that this was all stuff kids would let pile up. Kids...

Or Yuffie.

He carefully maneuvered his way through the junk, to dig in a drawer for a clean pair of pajamas... man, he really, really loved Tifa for never doubting him... as all of his clothes looked and smelled freshly washed. He'd thank her later...

He changed in the room, leaving his dirty clothes folded on the bed, where he'd retireve them tomorrow, and turned, grabbing a pillow off of his bed, to pad upstairs.

…

"_Tifa."_

Cloud was whispered, reaching out a hand to carefully, and warily poke the slumbering woman in the shoulder. He wasn't afraid to wake her in the middle of the night... he was afraid of waking her in the middle of the night, and her reacting as Yuffie had one time, swinging before thinking.

To his relief, Tifa shifted a little, frowning in her sleep, as if thinking, before opening her eyes slowly, and turning onto her back a little, having been on her side, to peer up at him through squinted eyes.

"... Cloud?" she questioned in a sleepy mumble, and he nodded his confirmation. "What's wrong?" she questioned, moving to sit up, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I just... my room... is a mess... and I..." he trailed off now, just realizing how purely ridiculous he sounded. If only he knew the correct wording, maybe this would go more smoothly...

"Oh... oh yeah. That was Yuffie... alright." she yawned, and rolled over onto the other side, patting the empty space beside her.

_Leviathan_ did he love her.

No woman on the planet would be as understanding and patient as she was. Cloud shifted, and slid in next to her, relaxing immediately at the warmth left by Tifa's previous position. She already seemed to have fallen back to sleep... and his arm was snaking around her waist, pulling her back to his chest. He _owed_ it to her...

At least, that's what he kept telling himself, to make himself feel a little less like he was taking advantage of the situation. He was already being lulled to sleep by her gentle breathing, and her scent. She smelled like the flowers that grew wildly back in Nibelheim...

…

"Tifa! Tifa! Wake up, quick! Cloud's room is empt... oh..." Marlene visibly relaxed in her guardian's doorway, as Tifa lifted her head, to smile gently at the little girl.

"No, Yuffie just left too much stuff in his room for him to sleep in, so he came in here." Tifa replied, holding her arms open, for Marlene to crawl into quickly, Denzel coming up to stand shyly at the doorway, watching.

"'Course I did..." Cloud replied in a mumble, before he pushed himself up slowly, ruffling a hand through his hair, as he sighed.

"Hey Tifa? We never got to give Cloud his lecture..." Marlene commented slyly, Tifa beginning to laugh softly, as Cloud blinked rapidly in surprise.

"Chewing me out in front of Vincent wasn't enough, kid? Help me out here, Denzel. It's two against one." Cloud turned to the door, and the younger boy's face lit up. He hurriedly walked over to the bed, and climbed on to sit beside Cloud, who wrapped one arm around his shoulders, as Marlene stuck her tongue out at Denzel.

"So..." Tifa spoke, soothing the atmosphere. "What should we do today? Cloud and I both have the day off," she questioned, looking down at Marlene and Denzel, before over at Cloud, "any ideas?"

"Me? No... not really... what do you two want to do?" Cloud asked quietly, looking down at Denzel, who shied away from Cloud's gaze. He was smiling though, at all the attention from his hero, as he toyed quietly with Tifa's bedsheets.

"W... well... Tifa told me a few days ago, that we could go shopping soon... for stuff for my room... Marlene too. Cool sheets and stuff..." he replied quietly, and Marlene immediately latched onto the idea.

"Yeah! Let's go to town!" she chimed, as she nodded in response.

Tifa looked over at Cloud, who merely nodded, and shrugged a little.

"Alright... you to go get ready. Cloud and I need to get ready too." Tifa replied, as she slid out of bed, and stretched, Cloudlooking away with a slight pink on his cheeks.

"Hey... Cloud?" Denzel asked, as he slid off of the bed as well, Marlene bounding out behind him.

"What's up?" Cloud asked quietly, looking down at him.

"I... well, I saw your dirt clothes this morning... and I figured you'd be tired from fighting and making deliveries, and Tifa tired from the bar, so I washed your clothes for you." Denzel replied, rushing the last bit, as if afraid he'd be angry.

"Huh... really? Thanks, Denzel." Cloud nodded, standing finally, and ruffling Denzel's hair in response, the younger boy beaming, before he ran out to get ready as well. Cloud made his way to the door, but was stopped by a hand on his wrist.

"Thank you." Tifa murmured, leaning up to press a brief kiss to his lips, before relasing him, and shutting the door gently, to change.

Cloud stared after her, at the wood of the closed door, before he smiled briefly, and walked downstairs, retrieving his clothes from the dryer, and changing again in his cluttered room.

…

Normally, Tifa didn't have a problem with going to town. She was usually only stared at a few times, only a few people with enough time to stop and recognize her. With simple, long black hair, eyes easily skipped over her, and she preferred it that way.

But now, she had Cloud beside her. Cloud, with his spiky, bright blonde hair, and glowing, mako eyes. Marlene and Denzel stood between them, and the two seemed happy to be with both of their guardian's, and even happier to have the kids eye them in envy.

"Where to, first?" Cloud asked quietly, looking over at Tifa, who paused, to think.

"I know a store. It's near a little cafe. Maybe we can get lunch afterwards." Tifa replied with a smile, and Cloud made a small noise of agreement, Marlene practically bouncing the whole way, while Denzel had a pleased smile on his lips the entire time.

Their time in the store was brief. It seemed Denzel and Marlene already knew exactly what they wanted, and had most likely visited the shop on the weekends, deciding what they wanted before even knowing they'd be going.

A quick lunch that everyone agreed couldn't compare to Tifa's cooking, and they were walking back, Cloud holding most of the begs, while Tifa held two. It was then they heard the shouting.

"Hey! Stop! Thief!"

Cloud and Tifa turned at the same moment, before glancing at each other. Tifa nodded, and Cloud dropped the bags, sprinting off towards the shouts, pulling his gloves on as he went.

"That guy's gonna get it." Denzel sighed, as if this was an every day occurance when Cloud disappeared into the sea of people, and cheers began to emerge. But, all too soon, Cloud returned, a smirk on his lips as he walked back over to his family.

"Someone got to him before I could..." Cloud explained, before waving his hand slightly, to lead them over to where the robber was now being cuffed, and... yelled at.

"Y'know, if you're gonna rob a bank, the least you could do is avoid hitting innocent pedestrians! I mean really, I know no one's a great a thief as I, but come _on!_" Yuffie complained, Vincent standing behind her, seemingly trying to vanish on the spot, with all the attention he was getting. News reporters were surrounding him, and no matter how many questions he was asked, he kept utterly silent.

"He ran out of the bank, and straight into Vincent." Cloud explained, as Yufie finally grappled her way through the crowd, and took hold of Vincent's arm.

"Okay, okay all! Vinnie's had enough human interaction for the day! Take us home!" Yuffie flashed a winning smile, as a slight blush rose to the gunslinger's cheeks.

A collective gasp issued from the crowd, as Vincent grasped one tattered edge of his cloak, pulled Yuffie against him with his clawed hand, and pulled it around them, the fabric seemingly whirling around him as they lifted into the air, onto the rooftops, and bounded off, disappearing.

"Huh... well, alright then. Let's get home, guys." Tifa replied cheerfully, and the three turned, walking back with the woman, happily.

…

Hours later, Cloud walked up the stairs, a half-asleep boy in his arms as he laid him in bed carefully, Tifa smiling from her spot beside him, and pulling the blanket up to his chin. Tifa leaned down, and pressed a gentle kiss to Denzel's forehead, before she tugged Cloud out gently, flicking the light off, and shutting the door behind her.

Marlene had already been put to bed, and finally, Cloud looked over at Tifa, who was thinking to herself. "We need to talk." she sighed finally, and slid her hand into his, a reassuring gesture, before she lead him downstairs, into the kitchen.

"What's... wrong?" Cloud asked quietly, as Tifa moved to sit on the counter, biting her lip, a habit she had when she was thinking.

"Well, I'm just wondering what's going to happen now. I mean... where do we go from here?" she asked quietly, looking up at him, with a slightly guarded gaze, and now Cloud saw all the damage he had done to her... leaving her alone with the kids, her having to find out about his Geostigma on her own...

"Whatever you want." Cloud replied immediately, firmly, as he watched her, and slowly, he stepped over to her, sliding between her legs as his hands rested on the counter, on either side of her hips.

"Whatever I want?" Tifa repeated, a curious gaze creeping into her wine colored eyes. "Like... what if I want... what if I want to get married?" she blurted, and Cloud's cheeks colored.

"Well... I... dammit Tifa..." Cloud sighed, and her face fell, but he didn't move away from her, instead reaching into his pocket. "I got Marlene to help me picking it out... that's where we went when Marlene said she had left something at the store... and I didn't want to ask you like this, but... Tifa Lockheart... will you marry me?" Cloud asked quietly, as he popped the lid on the velvet box. Tifa sucked in a sharp breath, revelling silently at the silver band with a single diamond in the center.

"Cloud... oh... Leviathan... I had no idea... of _course_ I'll marry you!" she breathed, and with a happy cry, she threw herself at him, arms locking around his neck as he took a step back, a silly grin on his face as he hooked one arm around her, his other hand carefully pulling the ring from the box. "Here." he murmured, tugging her back enough to slide the ring onto her finger. On her other hand she wore his Fenrir ring, and that brought another smile to his lips.

"I... I love you, Tifa." he murmured, looking up to meet her watery gaze, and her smile was absolutely breathtaking.

"I love you too, Cloud." she replied, and leaned forwards, to press her lips to his, before...

"Oh come _on_! That was the sappiest thing I've ever seen! Vincent, if you ever propose to me like that, I'll barf." Yuffie groaned, Vincent pinching the bridge of his nose, and muttering to himself as Yuffie turned, soon enveloped in Tifa's tight hug.

"I'm calling everyone and we're partying tomorrow night!" Yuffie beamed, locking her arms around Tifa, and returning her embrace, as Vincent stepped around them, and walked over to Cloud.

"Yuffie, huh?" Cloud murmured to the dark man, who watched the two women with an unreadable expression.

"She is... different... she is... light." Vincent replied, and although Cloud knew there was a deeper meaning in his words, he was too busy being tackled into a hug by the ninja to bother thinking about it for now.

He was home.

…

**Author's Note: **This didn't originally start out as a proposal, but it became one, hah! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated. I hope you liked it!


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